Marcos told not to meddle in Ukraine War

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should first address the war on poverty in the Philippines before meddling with other nations' problems like the war in Ukraine, said a leader of a political party on Wednesday.

«I think the President should address those first before he even considers getting involved in a war that is on the other side of the world because the Filipinos are really suffering right now,» said Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino head Itos Valdes.

Valdes made the statement following the Philippine visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy invited Marcos to attend the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland on June 15, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be discussed.

The Ukrainian leader claimed that Marcos vowed to attend the gathering.

«The message of that is that we are interfering in the issue between Ukraine and Russia,» Valdes said.

He added that Zelenskyy's recent actions contradict his image as a «freedom fighter».

«First, Zelenskyy has suspended elections in his country. So effectively he is acting like a dictator. So there are no legitimate elections and the Ukrainians have not elected a new leader,» Valdes said.

Valdes added that Zelenskyy has been going around the world asking nations for money to support a «losing war».

«In all the analyses and consulting we did with international political analysts and military experts, they said that Ukraine has effectively lost the ongoing conflict,» he said, noting more than 500,000 people have died in the conflict now its second year.

United States President Joe Biden said he would skip the Global Peace Summit but would send Vice President Kamala Harris as his representative.